In October, 1888 Gauguin arrived in Aries and moved in with Van Gogh, who was beside himself with excitement and dream of starting if not an artists' colony, at the very least a shared studio. Van Gogh had met Gauguin two gears previously and was in awe of the slightly older artist, whose own opinion of himself was greatly inflated. The stay ended in disaster culminating in Van Gogh's self-mutilation, but prior to this the two artists had worked on similar projects, and Gauguin's influence can be seen on Van Gogh's paintings of this time.

Van Gogh was particularly enraptured with a local vineyard, whose colours were turning to autumnal reds and yellows as the days shortened into autumn. He painted The Red Vineyard, capturing the mellowed tones and glistening light of the early evening sun reflecting in the river, while Gauguin painted Vineyard at Aries with Breton Women, clothing the women in the traditional Breton costume of his home.